CS: Of all the topics in systematic theology, what made you want to write about ecclesiology?

Gregg Allison (GA): One of the distinctives of Baptist theology is its ecclesiology, so being part of Southern Seminary and area churches has re-emphasized for me the importance of this doctrine. I know there are a lot of good writers in other areas like the doctrine of God, but it seems like there’s been a lack of attention among evangelicals to ecclesiology other than in pragmatically oriented books. I thought this would be a really good project to present a biblical and theological ecclesiology.

CS: We have a Baptist Faith and Message as a denomination, but are you suggesting that local and individual churches seem to be lacking strength in confession?

GA: Yes. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) is a wonderful statement of our confession. In our Southern Baptist churches, if we would read and even summarize it on a regular basis among our members, people would know what we believe and our members know what is expected of them. It provides a way to prepare for church discipline, if people deny Jesus Christ, for example. It brings unity as it helps our people read the Bible with the proper theological framework. So it has a lot of benefits to this confessional element and I think the BF&M is a wonderful framework for what we believe.

CS: What kind of legacy do you hope to leave with this work?

GA: A church that has all the seven characteristics that I list. (1) It’s doxological, oriented to the glory of God; (2) the church is logocentric, centered on the incarnate word, Jesus Christ, and the inspired word of God, Scripture; (3) it is pneumodynamic, empowered, gifted, guided and directed by the Holy Spirit; (4) the church is covenantal, existing in this new covenant relationship with God and displaying strong covenantal relationships between its members; (5) it’s confessional — each person is a regenerate member or has a personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ. And on a regular basis the church confesses the faith — what we believe in the BF&M, for example; (6) it’s missional: we’re called by God and sent out by God to be on mission and that’s not just an activity, it’s an identity of the church; and (7) then the church is spatial temporal eschatological, it is a reality that exists now. It has a building most likely and it’s in a space in time reality and flourishing but it sees itself as a penultimate reality. It’s always looking for that which is to come.

]]>http://www.sbts.edu/resources/magazines/church-necessarily-allison-discusses-his-new-book/feed/0Craig SandersEDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Southern Seminary Magazine writer Craig Sanders talks with Gregg Allison, professor of Christian theology at Southern Seminary, about his new book, Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church (Crossway 2012). CS: Of all the topics in systematic theology, what made you want to write about ecclesiology? Gregg Allison (GA): […]Magazines,Spring_2013,Book Review,Publication,Sojourners and StrangersSojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Churchhttp://www.sbts.edu/resources/magazines/sojourners-and-strangers-the-doctrine-of-the-church/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sojourners-and-strangers-the-doctrine-of-the-church
http://www.sbts.edu/resources/magazines/sojourners-and-strangers-the-doctrine-of-the-church/#commentsTue, 30 Jul 2013 20:18:14 +0000http://www.sbts.edu/resources/?p=14699(crossway 2012, $40) Gregg R. Allison

Gifted theologians offer much guidance in areas like biblical theology, Christology and ethics, but resources that set forth ecclesiology are rarer, particularly from a robust Baptist perspective.

“The church is the people of God who have been saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and have been incorporated into his body through baptism with the Holy Spirit,” he writes.

Observing that church experience often influences the development of ecclesiology, he examines the sufficiency of Scripture in forming this doctrine and offers helpful tips for distinguishing between normative and relative passages of instruction in the New Testament.

“The church of Jesus Christ itself is a necessary reality,” Allison writes. Emphasizing the role of the church in Christian life, he describes seven characteristics of the church’s origin and vision: doxological, logocentric, pneumadynamic, covenantal, confessional, missional and eschatalogical.

Allison identifies a lack of church discipline as the greatest problem in American evangelical churches and a hindrance to achieving purity. Allison urges churches to practice discipline as a future warning, and reminds them of the presence of Christ through this difficult process.

Since church polity is a defining mark of Baptist ecclesiology, Allison surveys the various offices of the church and summarizes the main forms of church government. Allison advocates plural-elder-led congregationalism, which he argues has historical precedence in Baptist life.

Readers may be surprised to find an academic endorsement of multi-site churches, and should examine the biblical basis for Allison’s arguments; Allison is an elder at Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, Ky.

Countering what he sees as apathy in administering ordinances in many churches, Allison offers a theological basis for a careful and deliberate approach to baptism and the Lord’s Supper with local churches.

The final section of the book handles the ministries of the church, which encompasses not only spiritual gifts but also worship, preaching, evangelism, discipleship and member care. Ultimately, according to Allison, “the church is a paradox,” loving her neighbors through culture-building while opposing the fallen world.

Excerpts from the book:

“To the church Christ has given two signs of this new covenant relationship: baptism, the sign of entrance into the new covenant relationship with God and into the covenant community, the church; and the Lord’s Supper, the sign of ongoing new covenant relationship with God and the covenant community, the church.”

“The church is the missional body commissioned by its head, Jesus Christ, with the same commission with which he was commissioned by the Father. The missional church is identified by and engages in the missio Dei.”

“Failure on the part of Christ-followers to [pursue holiness] should lead to their being disciplined by the church as proleptic and declarative sign of the divine eschatological judgment...The church benefits not only from divine sanction as it engages in church discipline but also from answered prayer and from the presence of Jesus Christ himself.”